


Cindy and the Quest to Make Things Right

by creekschaoscorner



Category: Kindergarten (Video Games 2017 2019)
Genre: Bob is mentioned for like five seconds, Did someone say Cindy redemption arc?, Dr. Danner too, I wasn’t sure whether i should tag Applegate or not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27120355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creekschaoscorner/pseuds/creekschaoscorner
Summary: The story of how Cindy apologized to all the people she had wronged
Relationships: Implied Billy/Protagonist (Kindergarten Video Games)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. The Flower Girl

Cindy steeled herself, straightening her skirt for what was about the fifth time. It wasn’t like this was a death sentence or anything, it was just... apologizing to the girl she bullied kindergarten through elementary.

She took yet another deep breath, and knocked. All she could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Maybe this was a bad idea. She should probably just leave- she could do this another day when she was more ready and-

The door opened, and Billy looked at her with a slightly surprised face, that quickly hardened into a glare that made Cindy feel like he would not hesitate to gut her. Wow, hanging out with Kidd was really starting to make him scary.

“Lily’s upstairs.” Billy stepped out of the way, gesturing for her to come in. She awkwardly stepped past him, glancing at her surroundings. It was a nice house, to say the least. Kidd was lounging on the couch, and he stared at her with those creepy black eyes. She resisted the urge to make a comment about him and Billy being on a date. She wasn’t here to start an argument with Kidd, she was here to apologize.

She climbed up the stairs, stopping at the room that was presumably Lily’s, if the flower painted onto the door was anything to go by. 

She took another deep breath, and opened the door. Lily was sitting cross legged on the floor, gluing images onto a giant board she had set on the floor in front of her. She stopped her gluing as soon as Cindy walked in, and looked up at her with a hostile expression. “What do you want?” She asked, her voice edged with suspicion.

Cindy fidgeted with her bracelets awkwardly. “To...talk. It’s totally okay if you don’t want to hear me out i just-.. i wanted to apologize.”

Lily capped her glue stick, setting it aside. “For what?” Her eyes narrowed.

Cindy flinched. It wasn’t like she could exactly blame Lily for being suspicious of her. Cindy didn’t exactly have the best track record of apologizing.

She sat down on the other side of the board. “For... all the names and the bullying and the pranks.... I’m really really sorry. You’re not obligated to forgi-“

“That’s not what you should be apologizing for.” Lily cut her off.

Cindy blinked. “What... what do you mean? What else could there...” she faded off as Lily made a couple finger guns towards a picture of Billy.

“..oh.” Cindy wilted under Lily’s gaze, suddenly understanding what she a meant. “You... never told us exactly what happened. But... i mean, it can’t be a coincidence that we’ve all been in the same class since we were five.” 

Lily shot her a surprised look. “I didn’t think you of all people would notice.”

“Hey!” Cindy gasped in what was only partially mock offense. “Just because I’m a blonde bimbo doesn’t mean i don’t have eyes!”

Lily snickered. “You said it, not me.” Her expression quickly darkened. “You know when Billy went missing? The principal was experimenting on him.”

Cindy gulped. “I... oh.” That explained a lot of things. “I’m... sorry. For everything i said about Billy while he was.... I’m just sorry for everything.”

Lily sighed. “I don’t forgive you.”

Cindy drew in a sharp inhale of breath. It wasn’t like she expected Lily to forgive her but.. it still stung. She wasn’t used to being in a situation where she was at someone else’s mercy. It reminded her of whenever her mom had a drunken meltdown and started throwing stuff across the house.

“But..... maybe i can, someday.” Lily continued. “Alright?”

“..Alright.”

“Now get out of my room, i gotta finish this theory board.” Lily gestured to the mess in front of her. 

Cindy reminded herself not to make any conspiracy theorist comments, pushing herself to her feet and silently walking out the door. As soon as it was shut, she leaned against it and sighed. That had been.... challenging. And Lily was just the first one on her list of people to make amends with.

...this was going to be a long week.


	2. Nuggety Peril

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cindy’s next apology doesn’t go as well as first one

Cindy cringed as she made her way through the grassy area, avoiding any piles of anything that looked... questionable.

She finally reached her destination, a beaten down house in the center of the field. It didn’t exactly look.... intact.

If Lily was correct, this was where she could find Nugget.

Cindy walked around the house, stopping right before reaching the back of it. “If this goes badly, i leave all my worldly possessions to Gravy.” She muttered, mostly to herself.

She took a deep breath and walked around the corner. Nugget seemed to be digging some sort of hole. She just sort of stood there for a while, hoping he’d notice her before she had to say anything. With every second that passed, she regretted this more and more. There was no way she was going to come out of this alive.

As if sensing her fear, Nugget turned around and brandished his shovel at her. “What does the horrible Cindy want with Nugget? Nugget does not wish to hear her mean words right now. Does Nugget not get a break from her taunting even when he is at his own house?”

Cindy took a deep breath. “I actually... came here to apologize.”

Nugget narrowed his eyes at her. “Nugget does not believe the mean Cindy.”

Cindy’s eye twitched. “Well- I’m going to say I’m sorry anyways. For.. taunting you and all the other things i did.”

“Nugget thinks the mean Cindy should be saying this to the pretty Lily instead.”

Cindy bit her tongue to keep her from making a comment on how uncomfortable that nickname made Lily. “I already apologized to Lily you twat.”

“Hmph.” Nugget lowered his shovel. “Nugget no longer wishes to be in the mean Cindy’s presence. Remove yourself from the premises.”

Cindy threw her hands up in defeat and turned around, walking away.

Well. That went terribly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for how short this chapter is, i promise it’s the shortest chapter in this ack


	3. Six Feet Under the Dirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to the Balire’s house Cindy goes, but to see a different person this time

Cindy stepped into the Balire’s house, brushing dust off her skirt. This had become a common occurrence, now that Lily had decided that Cindy was her, in the bluenette’s own words, ‘theorist assistant’. She can hardly object to helping Lily, plus it was basically gossip in a different font.

Her entering their house was such a common occurrence that Billy didn’t even look up from where he was seated on the couch, with a certain brunette’s arm thrown around his shoulders. They seemed to be watching some sort of movie, and Cindy felt a twinge of guilt for interrupting their date. Maybe she should come back later? No, then she’d lose her conviction.

She sort of stood there awkwardly, waiting for them to notice her. After a few moments Billy looked up at her. He smiled. “Lily’s upstairs.”

Cindy took a deep breath. “Actually..... I’d like to talk to you about something.”

Kidd raised his eyebrow, and Cindy resisted the urge to make a mean comment. Billy was looking at her with a bewildered expression. 

“Um.. alright?” He tilted his head.

Kidd seemed to take the hint, detaching himself from Billy and standing up. “I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me.” As if to demonstrate, he pulled an apple out of nowhere and bit into it while he walked off.

Billy gestured to the area Kidd was just sitting in, and Cindy took the hint and sat down. They were both silent for a moment, before Cindy finally spoke up.

“I’m.... sorry.” Her voice was so quiet she wasn’t sure she had actually said it out loud, but Billy closed his eyes and leaned back.

“I’m not m-“ he didn’t get to finish his sentence, because Cindy barreled on.

“You didn’t see it but- i was so horrible and petty when you disappeared. I hurt Lily and i just hated her and you and that she got so much attention and i.. didn’t. And i was mean to you even before that- I’m so sorry for trying to make you put gum in Lily’s hair and i just -...after I learned what you went through i... I’m really really sorry.” Cindy took a moment to catch her breath. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for Billy’s response.

“It’s not your fault, Cindy. Yeah, i was kind of mad about the bullying Lily thing, but you already apologized to her. And.. i mean, you were just a kid. We all were. I can’t reasonably blame you for anything that happened in kindergarten, not really.” When Cindy opened her eyes, Billy was smiling at her. His smile quickly faded though, and Cindy realized with a start that she was crying.

She quickly wiped away the tears. “I can see why Kidd likes you.”

Billy flushed bright red. “Aaaalright this conversation is over.” He stood up and basically pushed her all the way till she was back outside the door, before cracking a grin. “Uh.. see you tomorrow?”

“Me and Lily have to perfect our plan to take over the world, so probably.” Cindy laughed.

Billy sighed. “Haha, very funny.” He stared at her. “...you’re kidding, right?”

“You may never know.”


	4. The Golden Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone on Cindy’s list deserves an apology

Cindy looked up at the huge house, cursing herself internally. This wasn’t even worth it. Why had she put the rich brat on her apology list again? He certainly didn’t deserve an apology from her. If anyone needed to do the apologizing, it was him. Especially if Lily was right in her theories.

She made up her mind and turned away, storming back down the steps. It wasn’t like he would agree to talk to her, anyways.

“Cindy? Is that you? What are you doing here?” A familiar voice pulled her out of her quiet fuming, and she looked up to see Ted, sprawled out on the lawn with what appeared to be a stray cat sitting on his chest.

“What.. what are you doing?” Cindy asked, raising an eyebrow. “Aside from ruining your clothes with cat hair, that is.”

He quickly sat up, pushing the cat off of him. “This isn’t what it looks like! I was just- it just- i-..... please don’t tell my father.” He visibly wilted, as if he was already preparing himself for the inevitable punishment.

Cindy sighed, making her way over to him. She kneeled down, and Ted flinched away from her.

“Pspspspspsps.” Cindy cooed at the cat, who had ran away to hide behind the nearest object. It peeked out it’s head at her, and Cindy stopped calling at it to dig some cat treats out of her bag. She tentatively held them out. 

She could see Ted gaping at her in the corner of her vision, but she very pointedly ignored him. Slowly, the cat walked up to her, still staying a few feet away. Cindy put down the treat and backed up, letting the cat come get it and run back to it’s hiding spot.

She straightened herself out and brushed off her skirt, turning to face Ted again.

“How did you- it- i-“ the boy seemed to be having some sort of existential crisis, which was really kind of pathetic. “I didn’t know you liked cats.” He eventually settled on.

“....” Cindy sighed and gave him a disappointed stare. “I have a cat at home. His name’s Gravy.” 

Ted perked up. “Really? Do you have any pictures of him i could see?” He threw a hand over his mouth. “I mean- only if it’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother. I’m sorry.”

Cindy kneeled down and pulled out her phone, holding it out for Ted to see her lock screen. 

Ted’s eyes lit up. “He’s so cute!”

Cindy snickered. “Don’t be fooled, he’s just as much of a brat as his owner.”

Ted frowned at that, looking back up at Cindy. “You shouldn’t call yourself that. It’s not very nice.” Cindy wanted to laugh at his puppy dog eyed expression, but refrained from it.

“It’s the truth though. I’m supposed to be holding myself accountable now anyways.” Cindy stood up, tucking her phone back into her bag. “I should probably get going. Lily’ll be pissed if i miss one of our weekly ‘theory debriefings’.”

Ted frowned, but he didn’t say anything until she had already turned to leave. “..were you here to see Felix?”

Cindy paused, but didn’t look over her shoulder. She debated on answering him. Ted practically worshipped the ground Felix walked on. It was probably safer to just keep walking.

“Lint rollers are good for getting cat hair off of your clothes.” She finally said, before walking away like a coward. She could feel Ted’s eyes burning into her back, but she kept her head high on principle. 

If she got anything out of this other then a heavy feeling in her chest, it was learning that Ted apparently liked cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will pry the headcanon of Ted feeding stray cats out of my cold, dead hands


	5. Déjà vu, He’s Just Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The apology Cindy has been dreading, but maybe the most important one

Cindy stood outside of the door, not really sure why her hand hesitated before knocking. She had been here once before, and once again she was struck by how lonely the house looked. There was something about it that made it painfully generic, the kind of thing you’d see in a video game.

She told herself she was just hesitating because she didn’t want to talk to Kidd. Not because she was scared. Why should she be scared of him? He was just an edgy asshole who probably had more secrets then their entire class combined.

Cindy gritted her teeth and knocked, wincing a little bit at how loud it was. She hadn’t meant to hit the door that hard.

To her surprise, Penny answered the door instead of Kidd. The blonde was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, with a blanket thrown around her shoulders. “Cindy?” She sounded surprised, although Cindy couldn’t really blame her. It wasn’t like Cindy wanted to be here either.

“I’m here to see Kidd.” She practically spat the words out, her tone much more harsh then intended. She took a deep breath. The last thing she needed was Penny turning her away because she thought Cindy was here to start an argument.

“Please?” She tacked on, and that seemed to do the trick, because Penny’s expression softened just slightly and she stepped out of the way to let Cindy in. Cindy took the offer, trying to keep her walk normal as she pushed past the other girl.

The inside of the house wasn’t much better then the outside. It was almost empty, with only the bare minimum of furniture that didn’t look used. Penny seemed to have taken over the master bedroom, and from what Cindy could see through the open door she had a ton of mechanical projects spread out across the floor. That made sense in hindsight. Knowing Monty, he probably wouldn’t help repair Penny unless he got paid. It was logical that the other blonde was learning to fix herself.

Speaking of Penny, the girl in question was watching Cindy with a curious expression. “Kidd’s in the kitchen. He’s probably brooding over the fact that I made him eat actual food this morning. He doesn’t seem to understand that he can’t just survive off of apples.”

On any normal day Cindy would have laughed, but she was more than a little preoccupied right now. “...Where is the kitchen?” She asked, trying to keep her tone casual. This was not her element, and she was painfully aware of this. The control was slipping away from her, and everything in her didn’t want to be here. It was safer at school, where she was on an even battleground and she could use harsh words to keep the high ground

But this was necessary. She needed to make amends, even if it was with someone as horrid as Kid

Penny pointed over her shoulder, and Cindy walked past her. The kitchen was about the same as the living room, with the basic appliances you’d expect and yet absolutely nothing else. It was impersonal, and the strangest thing was that there were no apples anywhere. Honestly, Cindy should really just stop questioning that part of Kid. She was never going to understand.

Speaking of Kid, he was leaning against the counter, hands in his pockets and staring out the window with an unreadable expression on his face. He turned his head to look at her, a smirk written all over his features even if they didn’t move at all. If Cindy didn’t find him so insufferable, she would think the way he managed to express his emotions without expressing anything at all was impressive.

He raised an eyebrow, and Cindy wanted to punch him. Instead, she took a deep breath. 

“I’m here.... to apologize.” She managed to squeeze out. “For everything I’ve..said and done to you.” It wasn’t very specific, but she couldn’t find the words to put it any other way.

Kid made a noise that sounded like a snort. “Spare me your self-righteous pity. Apologizing to everyone you’ve “wronged” isn’t going to make you a better person. The only reason you’re doing this is so you can get some semblance of closure.”

Cindy’s fingers tightened into fists. “I understand if you don’t want to forgive me-“ she continued, as if he hadn’t said anything.

“Do you really though? Or are you just repeating the script of how your therapist told you an apology should go?” Kid tilted his head. “Wait, i forgot. You can’t afford a therapist thanks to your deadbeat mo-“

“SHUT UP!!” Cindy’s voice rang out before she could think about it, but she plowed ahead anyways. “Why do you always have to be like this?! I’m trying to be a better person, and it’s not my fault that you can’t accept that not all of us are as stuck in our toxic mindsets as you are! Grow up, Kid! Just because you don’t want to change doesn’t mean you have to attack me for trying!” Her voice cracked at the end, but she didn’t cry. Kid stared at her, his expression shocked. She must have hit a sore spot, because his calm and collected mask had shattered enough for the expression to slip through, as limited as it was.

Cindy stood up tall and straightened her skirt. “You know what? I’m leaving. I don’t have to deal with your bullshit.” She spun around on one foot and walked back towards the exit, but Kid grabbed her wrist before she could get far.

She turned to look back at him, fuming. “Get your hands off of me.” Her words came out in a hiss, and she could have sworn she saw Kid flinch. He let go of her, shoving his hand back into his pocket.

“....you can change. I’m.... jealous, of that.” Kid looked away, back out the window.

Cindy was confused. A part of her understood what he was trying to say, but another part wished he wouldn’t be so goddamn vague.

“......” Kid stayed silent for a few minutes, and Cindy just stared at him.

“If you’re not going to say anything else, I’m leaving.” She finally said. “I’m not Billy. I don’t care enough about you to deal with your edgy bs.”

Kid sighed, running a hand through his bangs. “I’m... sorry.”

“I don’t forgive you.”

Kid glared at her, but Cindy didn’t budge.

“And you don’t have to forgive me either. I just think we’re old enough that we should be able to be in the same room without starting an argument.” She continued.

Kid rolled his eyes. “Sure.” He conceded.

Cindy waited for a moment, but the turned and headed back for the door. Penny had probably gone back to her room, but Cindy didn’t bother looking for her. She opened up the door and stepped out, shutting it behind her.

It was...strange. She felt like she had learned more about Kid then she ever wanted to know. But... this was it. She had come to the end of her list. 

Well... not completely. There was one more person she needed to see. 

She didn’t feel any different. Maybe her chest was a little bit lighter, but it wasn’t some drastic change. Still though. Hopefully things would get better from now on. Hopefully she’d get better.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she paused for a moment to tug her hair out of their pigtails. She had put them up this morning as yet another defense mechanism, another piece of her carefully constructed mask to hide behind. Maybe she would never really get rid of the urge to lash out at others to stay in control, but this felt like a step in the right direction.

And even though her quest was almost over, that was all she could really ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incase you’re wondering, Kid took Penny in after the events of Creature Feature. They have a very sibling-esque relationship


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final apology

Cindy swung open the gate, stepping through. Her grip on the flowers in her hand tightened as she walked down the rows of graves, stopping when she came to one in particular.

She kneeled down to trace over the name engraved on the tombstone, reading it again in her mind

‘Here Lies Marianna Applegate,’

“..hey.” Her voice cracked a little when it came out. “So uh.... i know you probably don’t want me to visit and bother you, so I’ll make this short. I came to.. say something.”

She placed the flowers down into the vase presumably there for this reason, straightening up a little to dig through her purse for something. She set a pill bottle down beside the flowers, before standing all the way back up. “I brought peace offerings. The pills are probably old. I managed to pawn them off of Monty for a ridiculous price, so i hope you appreciate them.”

Cindy sighed. “I came here to say I’m sorry. I certainly made your life a living hell while you were our teacher. Not that you were a particularly good one but... kindergarten Cindy was a menace I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” She chuckled halfheartedly. “I hope you’re happy in whatever circle of hell you ended up in, you old cow.” She paused. “I think Bob misses you. Even if he never really got to know you. He’s the only one who visits your grave regularly. Maybe it’s just because the bigheaded scientist dude is also buried in this graveyard, but still.” She straightened out her skirt, drawing a deep breath.

“That’s kind of sad, isn’t it? I wonder what your life was like. I certainly wasn’t very observant as a little kid, so i guess I’ll never know.” A grin formed on her face, although it was bittersweet. “I bet Kid knows. He knows everything like that.”

She sighed. “Well, it’s getting late. I probably won’t ever visit you again, so consider me permanently out of your hair. That’s probably the best gift i could give you, anyways.”

She paused for a moment, staring out into the graveyard, before turning around on her heel and heading back out the gate. Carefully, she shut it behind herself, letting her fingers linger in the gaps before walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This little story does take place before the Fall of Applesoft(speaking of that, be on the lookout for another part of that story)  
> I hope you enjoyed this!  
> ✌️Peace out


End file.
